Ok, I'll jump in. This was taken in early November on my Dads 95th birthday. Dad and Mom celebrated their 62nd anniversary in September. Standing from l to r is my wife, Sue,(she posts here as Bigbaby occasionally), me, my brother, Joel, and his wife, Nancy. Ron

Thanks, everyone. I should clarify for those who don't know me. This is a Grandchild. I already have Erica who will be 5 in April and who was desperate for a baby sister. And Lucas who is 2 and probably doesn't care. Linda

Raven -- Yes, it's the view from the lanai at our ccndo in South Kihei on Maui. We've owned it for 11 years and are there for a month or more in winter. It's a ground floor unit with parking just outside and all tile flooring. It's not fitted out to be totally handicapped accessible, and there are three shallow steps down from the parking level. From what you've written on the KT about your mobility issues, it could probably work for you. Message me for our VRBO ad number.

Dee, one time on Facebook I saw a short video of a black swan who was weeding a garden. It was amazing. Yes, it would make more sense to have a division of gleaners. In fact, I was wishing the second gleaner who is a student minoring in ecogastronomy had spent her required semester abroad in Turkey instead of Italy. I have an internet friend who lives in Turkey who loves purslane. The second gleaner didn't want any to take home. The next day I pulled two 5-gallon buckets full from what should have been my pole bean patch. The good news is two days ago I saw a deer run by my window. I decided to get up for more coffee and to see if the deer was headed to the garden. I saw two adult wild turkey hens with 15 big babies heading in the opposite direction so I holler to dh to look out the window thinking he was in the bathroom which also has a backyard window. But he looked out a front window and saw an Eastern coyotee hunting near the garden. I watched and saw him pounce several times before bringing up what looked like a vole (also known as meadow mouse). They are darker and longer than a house mouse. The coyote gave it a good shake and looked like he gobbled it right down like a pelican would. I cheered loudly. Potato beetle larvae have appeared but not many. The plants looked beautiful when they were blossoming but now they are doing their downhill droop. We've had one dinner of early potatoes but I'm hoping for some good big keepers. I have both fingerling and bakers planted. Spiderwort that I thought I had dug out of the garden last year grew back and is now collapsing and making the border look awful. Time to dig it out again and also to cut back some yellow daisy like flowers. My husband thinks every thing looks nice but he doesn't see the weeds or poor design. Shastas are blooming and taking up at least 1/4 of the circle garden. Tall yellow day lilies look great at the end of the narrow border. The shallow handing baskets of annual begonias loved all the rain but the geraniums in two planters look terrible. I did not put a tall plant in the whiskey barrel planter and somehow the sweet potato filler plants have taken over. Enjoy the recent cooler and sunnier weather!